Volunteers jell around action plan for Monroe County homeless

Imagine being unable to get a library card, open a bank account or cash a check because you don't have an identification or one with a valid address.

ANDREW SCOTT

Imagine being unable to get a library card, open a bank account or cash a check because you don't have an identification or one with a valid address.

Imagine having no way for a prospective employer to reach you, or having to constantly take donated clothes because you have no money to use a public laundromat.

Not to mention wondering where you will spend the night.

"This is what daily life is like for the homeless in our county," Faith Kimes told about 150 people Friday at a breakfast summit on ways to help the homeless.

"These are things the rest of us don't have to think about."

Homeless people at the summit, held at East Stroudsburg United Methodist Church, nodded in familiarity as Kimes spoke.

Homeless since losing her job at Kmart in East Stroudsburg last year, Dottie Clark has been looking for work.

"I have an interview coming up at (East Stroudsburg University) for a full-time dishwashing job," Clark said, smiling. "Anything's better than nothing."

Ray Perkowski, who lives in his car, identified affordable housing, employment and medical/dental/pet care as some of the homeless' needs.

He's a divorced father of two who lost his Luzerne County firefighter job due to an injury.

"Any of you with jobs, homes and cars aren't far from ending up this way," he reminded the audience.

Each year, communities are required to conduct a census of the homeless and submit their findings to the federal government.

East Stroudsburg United Methodist and Stroudsburg Wesleyan are among area churches providing food and places to stay on nights when the East Stroudsburg Salvation Army shelter is filled.

When East Stroudsburg UMC learned that, prior to this year, Monroe County had not done an unsheltered homeless count since 2007, Kimes and fellow church members, including some homeless, formed a volunteer count team.

Kimes shared her eye-opening experience of dressing like a homeless person to fit in with others while doing the count.

She recounted how differently she was treated by others in society and how she saw the homeless help each other despite their plight.

Listening in agreement were two of Kimes' friends, Mike Thomas of Stroudsburg and his mother, Holly Quintana of East Stroudsburg, who do what they can to help the homeless.

Quintana has found two kinds of homeless: those who no longer want to be and those who choose to be.

She chooses to help the former.

Count team member Barb Glander, herself homeless, spoke about shattering myths of the homeless as menacing, lazy, uneducated addicts.

Glander said she has met inventive and artistic people, those with master's degrees and those who want to work again after being laid off or losing businesses.

"And they're some of the most caring people I've ever met," she said. "If given a choice between death from a mostly uncaring society and life with these people, I choose life."

The event concluded with the community being invited to join volunteer task forces formed to address specific needs.

"There's just such a need out there," said Mary Ann Broschart, who is heading the emergency shelter task force.

"You see some of these folks at the food pantry or out carrying bags of groceries because they have no personal transportation. How can you not help?"